quote:He needs to. He's one of our best DB's in man coverage IMO. He destroyed Steve Smith on the primetime game in the dome.

He wasn't on him all game. I think they put him around him near the goalline specifically to do what he did to him.

Not knocking Vaccaro but he wouldn't be able to cover Smith for a whole game. He was one of our best DBs last year because PRob went down early, Greer midway, and White was taking his lumps on the outside.

This year he won't be one of our better cover DBs(though he's still good at it) and that's a good thing. It means we have CBs that can actually cover. But like I said he will get some nickel play. I just think they want White and JB to get more play there.

On single high, like Paddy said we didn't get Byrd for nothing. He'll play a very similar role to Sharper during the SB run. That's when we had Sharper single high and Harper in the box. Now we have Byrd single high and Vaccaro in the box.

quote:He wasn't on him all game. I think they put him around him near the goalline specifically to do what he did to him.

I'm aware. However, when he did play on Smith or Lafell he was successful. Same goes for Alshon Jeffery in the Chicago game. It's more frequent near the goal line that you see him man-up tight to the LOS, but they'll use him anywhere on the field to cover a WR.

First game last year against Atlanta he played every position on the defense besides D-Line That's when I knew he'd be special. His versatility is unparalleled. I think it'd be foolish to not use it... Then again, that could be a reason for him getting injured last year.

I agree his versatility is great and I thought they'd use him the same way this year. I'm just basing what I said off of Payton saying his role will be more focused this year.

What he did best was tackle and cover big TEs so I think he'll be in the box much more, especially with the additions of Byrd, Bailey, and JB and Bush being good in coverage also when we need to go 2 high.

I do still think he'll be all over depending on that week's game plan. I think it'll just be more situational.

Exactly. Maybe a little less blitzing and a little more coverage with Vaccaro, but it's definitely looking like Byrd and Vaccaro will replicate Sharper and Harper(hopefully they'll be even better). Lewis better than Greer and hopefully Bailey better than Porter.

Our Dline is definitely better, but our LBs are looking worse. Fujita and a healthy Vilma were huge for us. Maybe a couple of the rookies will step up though.

Overall this should be our best defense since the Dome Patrol days and we have an actual offense backing them.

I'm curious to see who steps up too. I have high hopes for Humber, Reddick, Rufus Johnson and Dawson. Hopefully Butler lives up to the hype. The Powell and Forte picks have potential and there is always some unknown UDFA that stands out. I doubt we'll lose both Lofton and Hawthorne in the same year. I'd like to see us find that Coverage Linebacker that we lack. Bright side is: (1) no Will Smith saga this year (2) Shanle who.

Updated with today's transaction. Traded a WR for our 8th RT. Not sure why we keep adding all of these RT types when Armstead is the only real LT we have. Maybe they are hoping one of them can back him up?